My Jam Didn’t Set! What Should I Do?

This post is for new jam makers. If you are an experienced and seasoned canner, I invite you to leave your wisdom in the comments section!

You’re a new canner and your jam didn’t set. It is runny and sloshy and you don’t know what to do. Before you start to worry, let me ask you a few questions.

When did you make the jam? It can sometimes take 24-48 hours for a batch of jam to finish setting up. If your jam is still just an hour or two out of the canner and you’re worried about the set, it’s time to chill out. Literally. Walk away. Stop thinking about it.

Okay. You’ve let the jars rest for a day or two and it’s still more sauce than jam. Next question. Did you follow the recipe? Many of us look at jam recipes and are aghast at the amount of sugar it calls for. So we reduce the amount of sugar, thinking that it won’t do anything but make the jam less sweet.

Sadly, sugar plays a huge role in set. If you cut the amount in the recipe and you don’t compensate with a pectin designed for low sugar preserving, your jam may well be runny.

Did you check for set while the jam was cooking? Any time a recipe gives you a cooking time, it’s simply an approximation. During cooking, you also need to be checking for signs of set. You do this by using the frozen plate test, watching how the jam sheets off the spatula, and taking the temperature of your cooking jam. More on those techniques here.

You followed the recipe, it’s been a couple days since the jars came out of the canner, and still, your jam is runny. What kind of pectin did you use? If you used Certo or Sure-Jell liquid pectin, that might be the culprit. They changed their formulation a few years ago and I find that it’s not as effective as the other options on the market.

So. You followed a recipe, you checked for set, you used reliable pectin, the jars have been out of the canner for a few days, and still, the jam is too darned soft. Put a jar in the fridge and check the consistency in 24 hours. Cooler temperatures often help the jam find its way to a firmer consistency.

If you’ve gotten to the end of this post and you’re still unhappy with the way your jam turned out, you’ve got a couple of options. The first is to rename the preserve you’ve made. Call it sauce, pancake topping, or preserves. By changing the name, you shift your expectations and suddenly, runny jam doesn’t seem like such a big deal.

Or, if you absolutely, positively need to have a firm set, you can always remake the jam. I’ve got instructions on how to do that here. Just know that you’ll lose some yield in remaking it, and that there are no guarantees that you’ll end up with exactly what you want.

I used the Pomona’s pectin for the first time this year. I was amazed at how firm my jam became. The first batch was a bit too firm even with lower sugar. The second batch I played with the recipe just a bit and it seems perfect.
The jam that was a bit more runny in the past never bothered me. It was still delicious.

I just made 2 batches of peach vanilla bean jam. Sort of like my experiments. Obviously I’m sure small differences happened, but the main one was that I used the same brand (I believe Ball) liquid and powdered pectin. One of each. They’re both delicious, however the liquid is going to be a sauce, and the powdered is the perfect consistency 😀

My jalapeno peach jam didn’t set very well over the weekend (I think the recipe didn’t call for enough pectin). Good news? It makes a completely delicious bbq glaze, and it’s the perfect consistency for that!

When my parents first got married mom made a batch of jam and it separated. My dad thought she was the coolest! He had married a genius who made syrup for pancakes or ice cream and jelly for toast all in one bottle. He had no idea it was a flub, until he started complaining that she didn’t make more! Last year I made jam that did the same thing, you would have thought dad had died and gone to heaven. I’ve only got one jar of it left and and I know he’s going to be praying that I “get it right” again this year. See, it’s really all in your outlook.

Penny my son was the same way, for years after he was grown up he thought it was meant to be syrup, then one day (about 15 years after he was married) he called and wanted the recipe for syrup! way to funny!!

In my first year of canning, I had a batch of strawberry jam that didn’t set, so I called it sauce and gave it away as gifts. Everyone loved it. Now I have to specifically make strawberry sauce for several of the people on that first list!

I don’t normally use pectin – I’ve had more trouble with things being too firm than too runny. Several ways to not need pectin – use green apple skins; make smaller batches; and sometimes I use a technique that has you boil the fruit and sugar for 5-10 minutes, then scoop out the fruit with a strainer and boil down just the liquid to half or a third, and then put the fruit back in to get to temperature and set.

I’m a firm follower of the “rename it” crew. Every time I try to fix a batch, it gets too firm or burns. There’s something to be said for having jars of “cheesecake topping” in the pantry. And I love Penny’s story about the separated jams!

If one of your recipes calls for liquid pectin, what should I substitute? I am noticing that every batch of jam made with liquid pectin is too runny and I am afraid to keep boiling because I don’t want to break down the pectin further.
Thanks

I made grape jam last year. It didn’t set enough, and I was really disappointed. I remembered your advice about renaming it, so I labeled it grape sauce and put it away. That simple act really was very effective. I know what I’m getting when I pull it off the shelf, and it tastes delicious thanks for the great advice!

We made some prickly pear jelly (liquid pectin, prickly pear juice, lemon juice, sugar) last week and it didn’t set. We followed our recipe (which came from our local desert arboretum) to a T, and are confused on why it didn’t set. Any help would be appreciated.

I made strawberry lemon marmalade on 8 -2- 16. I went to a pantry to check on them they did still about 1515/ 20 minutes after being pulled out of the canner. I noticed small bubbles throughout life marmalade but they are not moving around. Is my jelly safe to give to other people or eat I don’t notice any mold on the jar. I am a first-time jelly canner any help would be appreciated thank you .

I doubled a blackberry recipe and it didn’t set. Oops. Canned it thinking it would set in a week or 2. Double oops. Now I know what I did I wrong, so I’ve got ice cream topping, pancake syrup and the best ever cobbler base!!

How can you tell if your jelly or jam didn’t set? My jelly gelled a little bit but still moves around a little bit in the jar, but not entirely liquidy, even after been in the fridge for a few days. Is this considered a soft set or are those still a little bit firm? Or is it now a sauce? 🙂

Love the rename theory! I made the mistake of trying to make a big batch of raspberry jelly and didn’t put as much sugar as was called for. So after remaking it the second time I have twelve jars of ice cream topping, cheesecake topping, barbeque sauce etc etc….thank you!

One of my peach jam batches turned out running!! I thought it was a waste well one day I was baking chicken and thought bout my jam sitting in the cupboard. Well I got a jar an covered my hens in a single layer real good! Oh my when my family sat down an started eating I heard nothing but amazing compliments and I was pleased 😉 It was delish 🙂

Actually…I deliberately sabotaged my last batch so it would be a syrup! I ran out of regular sugar making strawberry jam yesterday, but had a couple of gallons of strawberries left. So I used a package of Brown Sugar and one package of liquid Certa, but hoping it would only thicken it. I suppose I could heat it when serving and add corn starch, but I don’t want more jam…just a nice syrup for waffles!

I have had troubles getting syrups and jams to set properly… or sometimes I have to cook them
FOR-EV-ER…. and I think it’s the fault of my stovetop. I cook on one of those ceramic/smooth top electric ranges, and I just don’t think they get hot enough quickly to help things set up. I also have trouble making a good roux on it too. So, your cooking range may be the culprit as well.

First time jam maker and used recipe no cook low sugar from pectin box. It is very liquidy! Is it safe to eat, not having the fruit and pectin cooked in canning pan? The recipe says quick and easy jam or jelly directions. It has been 3 days since putting it in jars. Thank you.

I have a large batch (20 jars) of wild Maine blueberry jam that is runny. I originally used liquid pectin, and now want to remake it. I don’t want to add more sugar, can I repair it using no sugar pectin?

There’s a bit difference between using jello for freezer jams and using it for jellies destined for the boiling water bath canner. A lot of the standard rules do not apply for freezer jams. I stand my original statement, that jello is not an appropriate ingredient for jellies that are headed for the canner.

If I put it in the fridge and it thickens up, can I then take it back out and keep it in the cabinet provided I don’t break the seal on the jars? I made Christmas jam using your raspberry jam recipe and it’s a little to runny. I want to give it as gifts. Thanks!